While inflation in Ireland was at -0.33 per cent when the guidelines were adopted in 2020, it has now risen to 9.1 per cent, the highest level in 38 years, driven by sharp increases in the costs of energy, housing and transportation.
Liam Moloney, managing partner of Kildare-based Moloney & Co Solicitors, said awards for certain types of injuries are now comparable to the levels paid in Romania and Poland, where the cost of living and the cost of medical treatments is significantly less.
“The essential purpose of compensation is to, as far as possible, enable the person who has suffered personal injuries from negligence to get back to a normal life, i.e. the position they were in before the negligent act occurred,” he said.
“It is not to enrich someone. That includes ensuring that the full costs of ongoing and future medical treatments, care costs and transportation are paid in addition to compensation for pain and suffering.
“Injury victims place huge value on compensation because it helps them get back on track and recover from the negative fallout that was caused by the negligence in the first place.”
Mr Moloney added: “It is essential for the fair delivery of appropriate compensation that the real financial value of such payments is re-assessed given the dramatic increase in the cost-of-living standards here.
“These new guidelines should be immediately reviewed to ensure that injustice is not being done to people who are injured through no fault of their own.”
